Mr. Davison writes to me:—­“At a small village, called Shymootee or Tsinmokehtee, about 7 miles from the town of Tavoy, and very slightly above the sea-level, say 50 feet, I found on the 6th of May, 1874, a nest of this species.  The nest was placed in a dense clump of a very thorny plant (somewhat like a pineapple bush) about a foot from the ground; it was not particularly well concealed.  The nest was built of bamboo-leaves, and in general appearance was not at all unlike that of Ochromela nigrorufa; but the egg-cavity was very shallow, so that by moving aside an overhanging leaf the eggs were distinctly visible.  There were three partially incubated eggs in the nest, a somewhat dull white, spotted with pinkish dots.”

The nest is more or less egg-shaped, the longer axis vertical, with a circular aperture on one side near the top.

The exterior diameters are 5 and nearly 4 inches.  The aperture about 1.5 in diameter.  The cavity is barely 2 inches in diameter, and only 1.25 deep below the lower edge of the entrance.

Both nest and eggs strongly recall those of Dumetia hyperythra.  The former is composed of the broad, grass-like leaves of the bamboo, and with only a few stems of grass here and there intermingled as if by accident.  In the sides of the cavity the leaf-blades are so neatly laid together, side by side, that the interior seems as if planked, and at the bottom of the cavity there is a very scanty lining of very fine grass-stems.

Mr. Oates says:—­“I found a nest on the 2nd June near Pegu, with three eggs.  Failing to snare the bird at once, I left the nest for a short time, and on my return found the eggs gone.  I am satisfied, however, that the nest belonged to the present species; for I caught a glimpse of the sitting bird.  The nest was built on the top of a stump, well concealed by leafy twigs, except the entrance, which was open to view.  It was a ball of grass with the opening at the side.

“28th June.—­Nest in a shrub about 10 feet from the ground.  A domed structure with an opening at the side 3 inches high by 2 broad.  Height of nest about 6 and outside width 4.  Made entirely of bamboo-leaves and lined sparingly with grass.  Eggs 3.

“I have found numerous nests of this species, but always after the young had flown.  They appear almost always to be placed in shrubs at heights of 2 to 10 feet from the ground.  One nest, however, on which I watched the birds at work, was in a pineapple plant between the stalk of the fruit and one of the leaves, almost on the ground.”

The eggs are regular ovals, moderately elongated, only very slightly compressed towards the smaller end, which is only just appreciably smaller.

The shell is very fine and delicate, excessively smooth and fragile, but with only a faint gloss.  The ground is a dead white, with perhaps the least possible pinkish tinge.  The markings consist of tiny specks of brownish or purplish red and pale yellowish brown, thinly scattered over the rest of the surface, but comparatively densely clustered round the larger end, where they form a rather conspicuous though irregular and imperfect zone, apparent enough in all, but much more strongly marked in one egg than in the others.